Colonial · 1623
Levett's Cellar & Spicer's Cove
Levett's 1623 settlement site
[HC]High-Confidence Inference43.64640° N, 70.20290° W Suggested 45 min
Historical significance
The likely landing and settlement location of Christopher Levett, who was granted 6,000 acres in Casco Bay in 1623 and left a small garrison here — one of the earliest English attempts at permanent settlement in Maine.
Field observations
- A sheltered, south-facing cove protected from prevailing weather.
- Elevated terraces above the beach are consistent with 17th-century garden plots.
- A stone cellar depression persists in the woods above the cove.
Engineering / Landscape reading
Read the site as a landing before searching for artifacts: probable shallop haul-out, path uphill, freshwater source, and refuse zone downslope from the cellar.
Detector potential
★★★☆☆3/5
Likely finds
Hand-forged nailsRedware / coarse earthenware sherdsClay pipe stemsBrick fragments
Treat as a landscape first, a detector site second. Stay outside obvious structural remains. Do not disturb archaeological context.
Open research questions
- 1.What features of this cove would convince a 1623 sailor to stay?
- 2.Where would fresh water have come from, and does that shape the settlement footprint?
- 3.If the cellar is Levett's, where is the associated midden?
Field actions
From the archive
People associated with this place
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